Uphold to Delist USDT and 5 Stablecoins by July 1, Citing MiCA

Cryptocurrency exchange Uphold sent a notice to its European users, informing them that the platform will end support for six popular stablecoins from July 1. The decision is to align with the European Union's Markets in Crypto - Assets Regulation (MiCA). The six stablecoins being delisted are Tether (USDT), Dai (DAI), Frax Protocol (FRAX), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), Pax Dollar (USDP), and TrueUSD (TUSD). Users holding these stablecoins were given a deadline to convert them to a different cryptocurrency before June 28. After this date, the cryptocurrency exchange will automatically convert them into USD Coin (USDC). MiCA was passed into law in May 2023 and went into partial effect in June 2023, with the extensive EU crypto laws expected to come into full force by the end of 2024. MiCA places additional and stricter regulatory requirements on fiat-backed stablecoins and e-money tokens that have crossed a predetermined adoption threshold, as determined by a set of seven quantitative and qualitative indicators. This regulatory change means that stablecoin issuers in the EU must hold licenses as credit institutions or electronic money institutions under the MiCA framework. Uphold's decision to delist these stablecoins is a proactive step to ensure compliance. Other major crypto exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, and OKX, have also tweaked their stablecoin listing policies to comply with MiCA regulations. For example, Binance divided its stablecoins into “regulated” and “unauthorized” coins in line with the new rules, although it has yet to decide which specific stablecoins fall into each category. The delisting by Uphold has implications for European users. They will need to adjust their trading and investment strategies, as the delisted stablecoins may have been an important part of their portfolios.